After skipping congressional inquiries into allegations of sex trafficking and franchise violations of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), Apollo Quiboloy said he has gone into hiding because his life is in danger.
He claimed that the Philippine and United States (U.S.) governments have placed a $2-million bounty on his head and are working together to get rid of him through “rendition.” This has no basis.
STATEMENT
SMNI, believed to be owned by Quiboloy, uploaded on its YouTube channel a recorded 37-minute statement from the self-appointed son of god on Feb. 21, saying:
“…these are reliable sources na dumating sa akin na ayaw na raw po nila ng extradition treaty. Ang kanila daw pong gagawin, ng CIA, ng FBI, ng U.S. Embassy at State Department, kasabwat ng ating gobyerno, ng Pangulong Marcos at ng first lady at kung sino pa man ang nasa gobyerno, ako ay rendition ang kanilang gagawin.”
([Information] from reliable sources had reached me that they don’t like the extradition treaty. What they will do, the CIA, the FBI, the US Embassy and State Department, in connivance with President Marcos and the first lady and whoever is in government, is rendition.)
Source: Sonshine Media, WATCH: Full statement of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy | 21 February 2024, Feb. 21, 2024 watch from 5:10 to 5:35
The 73-year-old Quiboloy, who has been on the “most wanted” list of the United States Federal Bureau for Investigation (FBI) for sex trafficking, added:
“Inalis ninyo ang aming malayang pagpapahayag… pati ang liberty ko na, ang aking freedom, ang aking constitutional rights, wala na po… Nakapalibot sa amin ang mga CIA, alam namin ‘yon. FBI, nandiyan din. Pinag-usapan na ito diyan sa State Department, at ang reliable sources na dumating sa akin, ang ulo ko po ngayon may patong na $2 million or P100 million ang ipinatong sa ulo ko. Baka iyan ay madagdagan pa kung may maunang makapatay sa akin.”
(You deprived me of free speech, including my liberty, my freedom, my constitutional rights are gone… We have been surrounded by the CIA, we know that. The FBI is here, too. This had been discussed at the State Department, and the reliable sources [told] me that a $2-million bounty is on my head. That may even go up for whoever kills me first.)
Source: watch from 10:21 to 11:07
FACT
The FBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have denied that there is a bounty on Quiboloy as well as any plan for his rendition or assassination.
“There is an active arrest warrant for Mr. Quiboloy but I’m unaware of a reward offer,” FBI Public Affairs Specialist Laura Eimiller told GMA Integrated News.
PNP Spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing on Feb. 22, “Sa ngayon, except for his pronouncement, wala pong natatanggap na information ang PNP with respect to the threat against his life.”
In a statement on Feb. 21, Kanishka Gangopadhyay, spokesperson of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, said: “For more than a decade, Apollo Quiboloy engaged in serious human rights abuses, including a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape of girls as young as 11 years old, and he is currently on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted List.”
He added, “We are confident that Quiboloy will face justice for his heinous crimes.”
BACKSTORY
Following Quiboloy’s no-show at the Jan. 23 Senate probe into allegations of human trafficking, sexual abuse, violence and other abuses against the self-styled founder of the Davao-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name church, the chamber served him a subpoena to appear at the next public hearing on March 5.
The House of Representatives also served Quiboloy a summons on Feb. 19, directing him to appear in a separate inquiry into the alleged franchise violations of SMNI’s operator, Swara Sug Media Corp.
Quiboloy was indicted in November 2021 in California for his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought his church members to the U.S. using fraudulently acquired visas, conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking, fraud and bulk cash smuggling, among other charges.
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Sources
GMA News Online, FBI denies $2-M bounty for Quiboloy’s arrest, Feb. 21, 2024
ANC 24/7, FBI denies Quiboloy’s claim of $2-M bounty for his arrest | ANC, Feb. 23, 2024
The Philippine Star, Quiboloy will face justice – US government, Feb. 22, 2024
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Apollo Carreon Quiboloy, Accessed Feb. 27, 2024
GMA News Online, PNP: No info on threat to Quiboloy’s life, Feb. 22, 2024
Manila Standard, No info on death threats against Quiboloy—PNP, Feb. 22, 2024
SunStar Philippines, PNP: No info on threats vs Quiboloy, Feb. 22, 2024
House of Representatives, House summons Quiboloy over SMNI franchise revocation bill, Feb. 19, 2024
Senate of the Philippines official YouTube page, Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality (January 23, 2024), Jan. 23, 2024
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)
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